July 02, 2004

Vet Med Library Finishes Collection Reorganization

The Veterinary Medical Library has completed work on a substantial space and collection reorganization project. Begun in February, the project allowed library staff to deal with organizational problems which had cropped up due to overcrowding on the library’s stacks, and to arrange the collection more clearly. We are hopeful that the changes will make the library’s collection easier for our clientele to use.

The first step of the project was the removal of some older and/or lesser used materials from the library. Only journals which had been previously cancelled at the Vet Med Library and which were also held at another campus library (Magrath and/or Bio-Med) were removed. Some older editions of textbooks and other superceded books were also removed. Most of the materials removed from the library were transferred to the MLAC library storage facility in Minneapolis, and are still accessible to U of M personnel upon request.

Interim Vet Med librarian Kevin Messner commented, “Although no one likes to see carts of material going out the door, this project was really necessary. Up until now, we would, for example, frequently be unable to reshelve books when they were returned, because something else had been put in its place when it was checked out. Now we have enough space to add new material to any part of the collection.”

The reorganization also allowed staff to move similar parts of the collection closer together. For example, all three-day loan period books are now shelved on the north side of the library, and all regular loan books are on the south side. Government publications are shelved together on the north side as well. A library floor plan is available to help users negotiate the changes in shelving arrangements.

The changes in the stacks also presented an opportunity to alter some of the library’s seating space. “We hope to create a variety of extra nooks where someone could study, either alone or in a group, yet maintain some ‘breathability’ in the space, and keep the stacks passable,” Messner commented.

Building on this momentum, the library plans a number of additional small-scale improvements over the next several months in other parts of the facility. Vet Library staff look forward to serving the continued collections and study space needs of its users well into the future.